This invention relates generally to take-up reels of the type used for winding, and paying-out flexible elongated members such as hoses and electrical cables and, in particular, to motorized take-up reels.
It is well known in the art to provide an apparatus wherein an elongate flexible member such as a cable, rope, hose, electrical cord or the like is wound about a take-up reel for storage when not in use, and which is paid out by unwinding from the take-up reel to the appropriate length as required. A popular application for this arrangement is use of a flexible hose for carrying air, water, oil, grease, or the like from a reservoir to a dispensing nozzle. For example, in a typical mobile Liquefied Petroleum (LP) gas delivery truck, LP gas is delivered from a pressurized tank to a take-up reel which stores a length of tubular hose. When LP gas is to be delivered, the hose is pulled from the reel until the desired length is paid out. When the hose is no longer in use, a motor is engaged to rewind the hose back onto the reel.
It is often desirable to provide a positive lock to prevent the inadvertent unwinding of the hose from the reel. A common means for positively locking a non-motorized hose reel is a “pin-lock,” which is a simple spring-loaded mechanism mounted to the reel frame. The spring-loaded mechanism pushes a small pin through one of a plurality of holes in one of the flanges of the reel to lock the reel to the frame. To release the reel, the pin is withdrawn from the flange and rotated to a position where a detent, catch, or similar mechanism holds the pin away from the flange. A conventional pin lock is not compatible, however, with a motorized hose reel because of the possibility of accidentally engaging the motor when the pin lock is still engaged. What is needed therefore is a pin lock that includes an interlock to prevent engagement of the motor unless the pin lock has already been disengaged.